Do you have Little Bluestem in your landscape?

Schizachyrium scoparium, or Little Bluestem, is a great ornamental native grass that is right now in its fullest glory. The seed heads have expanded into a fluffy pizzazz. And the color shift! The blue-to-sea-green leaf color that I enjoyed earlier this year turned strawberry blonde in fall and has now moved toward a bronzed sienna. It will stay this way through the winter. I won't cut it back until early April when the rest of the garden is emerging.

I planted three of these--a cultivar known as 'Standing Ovation' that is a little sturdier than the straight species-- along the steps that lead up to my front door. Grasses are great to plant on slopes because of their deep roots. The ones I planted 18 months ago are already noticeably helping reduce the erosion that was occurring on that side of the steps. They also add some much-appreciated winter interest for the front bed.

This very ornamental native grass is host plant for several skippers—that special little category of not-quite butterfly, not-quite moth. Skippers have a fat, furry body like moths, but they fly during the day, like butterflies. The photo here was taken by Erica Weick, and is a Broadwing skipper—a close relative of the skippers who like Little Bluestem.

Little Bluestem is listed as deer resistant by some sources, and "tolerant of deer browsing" by others. As with many of the deer resistant plants this may depend on how many deer are around and what their other options are.

Happy gardening!
Chris

P.S. I am seeing clients this winter! And if you are in the mood for a winter design consult, your timing will be perfect for spring: Plan your new bed, get your plant shopping list decided, draw the shape for your bed and put down newspaper and mulch so that when spring arrives, the bed is ready to plant without needing herbicide to kill whatever used to grow there. Great planning ahead! :-) More info on consulting service here.